CoreLogic Records 4.7% Drop in Home Prices in 2011

Year-end data from ""CoreLogic"":http://www.corelogic.com shows home prices fell by 4.7 percent over 2011. It marks the fifth consecutive year the company has recorded an annual decline in residential property values.

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CoreLogic performed a separate calculation, which illustrates just how big an impact distressed sales are having on home prices. The company excluded all short sale and REO transactions from 2011 and found that when the distress factor is taken out, prices declined by just 0.9 percent.

Commenting on the company's latest results, Mark Fleming, CoreLogic's chief economist said, ""While overall prices declined by almost 5 percent in 2011, non-distressed prices showed only a small decrease. Until distressed sales

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in the market recede, we will see continued downward pressure on prices.""

Montana tops CoreLogic's list of states with the highest appreciation last year (based on overall prices, including distressed sales). There, home prices rose 4.4 percent.

Rounding out the top five list for price gains are Vermont (+4.0 percent), South Dakota (+3.1 percent), Nebraska (+2.5 percent), and New York (+1.7 percent).

At the other end of the spectrum, Illinois takes the top seed for the highest level of depreciation in 2011 (also including distressed sales), with an 11.3 percent decline.

The hard-hit states of Nevada (-10.6 percent), Georgia (-8.3 percent), and Ohio (-7.7 percent) also landed on the list, with Minnesota (-7.5 percent) capturing the No. 5 spot for home price depreciation last year.

At the national level, CoreLogic says home prices ended 2011 down 33.7 percent from their peak in April 2006.

Here again, the company illustrated the weight of distressed sales, noting that when short sale and REO transactions are factored out, the home price decline from April 2006 through December 2011 narrows to 24.0 percent.

The five states with the largest declines from the peak (including distressed transactions) are Nevada (-60.0 percent), Arizona (-51.9 percent), Florida (-50 percent), Michigan (-43.7 percent), and California (-43.5 percent).